Nomad: I’m nomad, proud father and husband. Born in the Philippines, grew up in Vancouver. Got a 9-5 to pay the bills and just love dope music.

FH: For how long have both of you been DJing?

Nomad: For about 5 years now.

Gruff: Started really getting into it about 2 years ago.

FH: What was the actual cause for you to focus on mixing?

Nomad: When I first started it was for the sole purpose of making mixtapes I can listen to in my whip or at home or whatever. I listened to quite a bit of mixtapes growin’ up and loved how they would take you on a journey of sorts through the mixing of different tunes. I wanted to do the same.

Gruff: I just love spreading the good vibes man. i like putting other people on to artists and tracks they might have never heard of and for them to feel it the same way i feel it..and what better way to do that than through throwing a mix together. I also like the whole creative process behind it. Its like a challenge to me. When i make a mix i like the whole flow of it to be on point so finding the right tracks and having them flow the way i want it too is like a puzzle to me.

FH: Did you have any influences that impacted your style or chosen genre?

Nomad: Man, alota influences over the years from different genres and not necessarily dj’s. I’d say the likes of sun-ra, roy ayers, badu, quincy jones, ATCQ, heiro, invisbl scratch piklz, beat junkies to name a few but really the list is deep. More recently I’d say artists on the soulection, ninja tune, darker than wax and flow-fi labels.

Gruff: Definitely, i remember when i was younger my parents used to take us on vacations to the beach and all they would play was the dope shit. from jazz to soul.. sade was on heavy rotation.. stevie wonder, isley bros ETC. Then when i was about 9 or 10 my uncle introduced me to hiphop, he gave me a cassette single of Dr.Dres “aint nuthin but a G thang” and i was hooked. i was introduced to jazz,soul, hiphop and r&b at young age so it just naturally progressed into what now is called “future beats” which to me is heavily influenced by all those genres i grew up listening too. Artist wise, I’d say the same as nomad but the list runs super deep.

FH: Tell us a bit more about FRKWNCEES and how you actually started and met.

Nomad: Been homies with MRMCRUFF for 7 years. We met back in ’08 when I was dating his sister and stayed connected after the fact because we always shared the same love for music. It was only right that we linked up and worked together.

FH: What effects your artistic side?

Nomad: My wife and daughter, constant inspirations on every level.

Gruff: My family, man.

FH: What are your goals for the future?

Nomad: Just to keep on keepin on, spreading the dopeness that so many artists are putting out. Wherever that leads us to is where we will be.

GRUFF: Word. No goals really, were just going to keep doing what we love to do and see where that takes us.

FH: Its been a pleasure having you as guest. We are looking forward to hear more from you guys. Thank you for your time, we wish you all the best for the future!

Nomad: Thanks for having us and for supporting our contribution to the music universe.

GRUFF: Word. Thank you for fuckin with us. We really dig your whole movement and what you guys are bringing to the table so thank you once again for featuring us.

Showcase EXHIBIT 1

Songwriter GOLD X

INTERVIEW

FH: Hello Gold X, thank you for your time please let us know more about you and your expertise.

Gold X: Well my real name is Adrian Pimentel. I decided to go with Gold X because it had a deep meaning to me. Gold X stands for “Gold Times” like the multiplication sign. It’s “Gold Times” because I feel like I can bring a golden time to Hip Hop with my music. Also the ‘X’ in Gold X is also Exodus, as this is my Exodus to break out and reach heights I would have never thought of.

FH: What triggered your interest for music and especially for the songwriter field?

Gold X: I decided to become a songwriter because my big brother was a musician. He is the inspiration that drove me to wanting to become a Hip Hop artist and become great with my words. Although his field is doing Spanish music, since I was a lot more comfortable with English; and Hip Hop was my favorite genre, I decided to go with it.

FH: For how long have you been working on music now and with who have you had the pleasure to work with?

Gold X: I’ve been working on music since I was 12 years old and I am now 20 going on 21. I’ve always admired music and always wanted to learn how it was made. So when I learned I was very fascinated and just wanted to continue. I have no have been able to work with any big named artists but hopefully in the future I will be able too. I had a small group that help me with a lot and I’m grateful for my team. A couple of producers/artists I have enjoyed working with is Baroco Beats, Cheer Dolor, and very big helpers of mine, 1SixO.

FH: Doing music surely gave you the opportunity to work with various individuals that effected your Style, what helped you to find your purpose within the music industry?

Gold X: There have been so many things that have helped me out. When I first began to write I started to study the greats and I wanted to found out what they all had in common. To me it was a great opportunity to learn and so I went as far as I could to learn. At that time I still in development in my characteristics of what my sounds was going to be. I found out a couple stuff they all have in common and decided to implement some stuff with my own unique style so it would compliment me well.

FH: We are aware of your upcoming Project “Chalice of Excellency” including a feature of Cheer Dolor. Please tell us something about your 12 Track project and when it will be released.

Gold X: “Chalice of Excellency” is my upcoming and first mixtape. I released an EP 2 years ago called Dedication. It did well but I still very much developing. I think this mixtape will show a lot of what I’m aiming for and where I’m heading for. I feel like I have a lot of relatable songs in the mixtape and a lot of great songs worthy of repeat listening. This is my first mixtape and I’ve worked so hard to give fans something that will always be emembered with great songs and great entertainment. The mixtape is a September release but I don’t have a specific date. It may come out earlier in August.

FH: The featured Track for this interview is “Boomerang”, please tell us something about the background of the track if possible.

Gold X: Well when I wrote this song, I just thought of how a boomerang works. It was a perfect analogy and idea. It’s about a woman who continues to leave and come back. She has no idea what she wants but she can’t hide her feelings towards me. As time progresses I start to think things are going well and she ends up leaving me again like she’s always done multiple times; and so I decide that since she’s left me its okay for me to talk to other girls. She sees that and tries to use it against me but we are not together and she was the one who left me. I tried hard enough to make her stay and she didn’t. But I tried one last time and she ended up coming back once more.

FH: For how long have you worked on the mixtape now?

Gold X: I’ve been working on this mixtape for about 5 months now. It’s almost complete just have to record a couple more songs and fully mix and master all of them.

FH: Are only you working on this project or are there any other people involved?

Gold X: I am working on this as a solo project, but there are people helping me out with the mixtape. The people I mentioned before which are Cheer Dolor and 1SixO.

FH: When will we have the pleasure to hear “Chalice of Excellency” in full length?

Gold X: You guys will hear it in September the latest but maybe earlier in August.

FH: Thank you so much Gold X, we are really looking forward to your upcoming project and are surely keeping our viewers updated on this page!

Gold X: Thank you guys so much for allowing me to be apart of this! I appreciate it very much and it means a lot to me. Hopefully things can continue to go well for both of us!